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Well, it is only the 3rd of the month, but October is shaping up to be busy, busy, BUSY!

October 3: International Walk to School Day
Did you know that today is International Walk to School Day? I didn’t either until my super awesome friend, Jil Littlejohn, who happens to be Greenville City Councilwoman, filled me in! Over the last several weeks, I have been coaching Jil to race her first 5k at the end of this month. We are currently in Week 5 of her 8-week training. Normally we run at Cleveland Park, near downtown Greenville, but today we ventured over to Nichol Town Green. The new route brought on lots of twists and turns and steep hills! After the run, we went over to the playground area where all of the children were gathering before heading off to school. Jil put on her City Councilwoman hat and helped present a check for $39,474 to the neighborhood. The money will go to making improvements to the trail so that the children will have a safe path to travel on to get to the school every day! Thanks, State Farm for helping to improve our community!October 4 – 7: Chicago Marathon with Nuun Hydration (Chicago, IL)
I’ll be working the Nuun Hydration booth at the expo for the Chicago Marathon! If you will be there too, swing by Booth #584 and say hello! One of my best good friends, Valerie, will be running her very first marathon ever in Chicago and I cannot wait to cheer her on. Plus, I will get to see Jocelyn, one of my Nuun-mates from Hood to Coast, again! All around WIN!October 8 – 15: Ironman World Championships with Timex (Kona, HI)
If you missed the big announcement the other day, click here to find out all the details. Since then, I have received a sweet welcome kit from Timex! I received a pretty blue Timex Kona t-shirt, a commemorative Timex Ironman Kona watch, the promotional DVD from last year’s event, and a Visa gift card! I *love* the watch! This particular design/style is sold only at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii and the social ambassadors are the first ones to receive them! AWESOME.October 18 – 21: Runner’s World Half Marathon (Bethlehem, PA)
I am so excited to be able to participate in this inaugural event! Again, I will get to reunite with a few of my Hood to Coast Nuun-mates…Elizabeth, Jess, and Laura! I will be going up a day ahead of time to participate in some blogger activities like a BBQ at the Runner’s World headquarters and a shakeout run with the editors of Runner’s World. This will be super fun! Plus, I will get to hang out with my boy, Bart Yasso again! Good times! If you have not signed up for this race, but want to register, use code BLOGGER23 to save 10%!October 27: Spinx Run Fest (Greenville, SC)
This is the big day for Jil and I! I will be pacing Jil during the Big Punkin 5k for the Spinx Run Fest. I have run the half marathon that is part of this running festival and I loved it! Maybe next year I will do the full marathon. Who knows, maybe next year I will be pacing Jil through the marathon! All of the races that are part of this running festival offer beautiful courses and I would highly recommend them if you are looking to run a race in SC! This is also the same weekend as the Marine Corps Marathon. My friend, Tess, will be running her first marathon there, so I will be cheering her on from afar!

October 31: Halloween!
This will be Baby Key’s first Halloween! Woo hoo! I am a total GEEK for Halloween, so we need to come up with a good costume for him! Should we do coordinating family costumes, or is that totally nerdy? What do YOU think?

WHEW! I’m exhausted just looking at all of this, so I better just take it one day at a time…

Well, today is the day! This is my last day as an electrical engineer and it is still feeling pretty bittersweet. My current company has been so good to me and was incredibly supportive when I had Baby Key and all the issues we have had with him. As much as I am thankful for every opportunity I have been offered, it is time to bid them adieu and pursue my dreams!

After today, I will be heading out into the world of all things running and racing and making an attempt to become Mistress of the Racing Universe. Sounds like a monumental plan, right? That’s because it pretty much is! I am still overwhelmed with all of the things that have to be pulled off in the next few weeks, but I am determined to take things one step at a time and not get (too) overwhelmed. Oh, and I suppose this calls for an update to my LinkedIn, right?

YES.

Please allow me one quick moment to insert a shameless plug…I promise not to make a habit of this…

If you are in the South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, or Georgia area and you need help with any type of race, please feel free to contact me at katie@go-greenevents.com. We offer full service race management, direction, and timing services. Want a more detailed list of what we can handle? Just shoot me an e-mail! And if you are outside that geographic area, and need help, e-mail me anyway! We might be able to work something out! You can rely on us for the following types of races (all distances!)…

Road Races

Trail Runs

Cycling Events

Mountain Bike Races

Swim Meets

Duathlons

Triathlons

Mud/Obstacle Runs

Adventure Races

Today I leave you with this little video that my friend shared on facebook. I nearly died laughing and I think some of you will find the humor in it too! Enjoy!

(Oh, and don’t forget, if you have have any questions, comments, etc. about non-race stuff or about my blog, you can always e-mail me here! I love hearing from you!)

What’s on the horizon for YOU? Any big plans or life changes coming up?

As my time as an engineer draws to a close, I find myself getting even more nervous, excited, and anxious about our big move and my massive career change. I will spend today cleaning out my office and clearing off my work laptop. Reality is setting in big time. To keep myself from focusing on the anxiety associated with such big changes, I need to highlight some of the perks that will come along with my new position!

BLUE HAIR
I am 100% serious about this. Throughout my college years, I experimented with many different colors of hair…some natural…some notsomuch. My favorite hair experiment was with the color blue. I absolutely LOVED it. As soon as I find a stylist in Greenville that I feel is capable of giving me such a dramatic color, I will be dying some (possibly all?) of my hair navy blue. Imagine comic book hair…looks almost black when inside, but is obviously a deep shade of blue when the sunlight hits it! Or maybe I’ll go with a lighter blue? Either way, I cannot wait!

This could be cool, right? Even though I’m almost 30?

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
Run at 6AM? Run at 9AM? Run at 11AM? Run at 1PM? Run at 3PM? Sure…why not! The perks of having a flexible schedule is that, barring important meetings and/or conference calls, I will be able to schedule running and workout time when my body is ready for it. No more awkward crack of dawn runs or runs in the dark of night…unless I feel like it. As I have said before, my body most enjoys running around 8AM but, like most people, I have always had to be at work at this time. In addition, if I want to take group exercise classes that fall during the daytime, my schedule will now allow it. Since I will be directing/managing/timing races, many of my work hours will fall on the weekends anyway, so I will not allow myself to feel guilty for taking a mid-morning run. I will have to get used to this, since I can tend to be a workaholic, but I am sure that it won’t be *too* hard of a routine to break into.

!! TREADMILL DESK !!
Oh yes, you read that right, friends! Mama is gettin’ herself a freaking treadmill desk! I need one of these…I mean NEED. And I don’t mean “need” like “want”…I mean “need” like I NEED food and water. Okay, so maybe the situation isn’t *that* dire, but I have wanted to have a job where I could utilize a treadmill desk for YEARS and I am determined to make this happen. With the expenses of a new house and moving so far, I don’t know how we are going to afford this yet, but trust me, I will make this a reality. Can’t you just picture me…planning races, making big stuff happen, all while burning calories and getting fit? That’s the ultimate in multi-tasking! I’d be able to keep the longest run streak EVER with a treadmill desk!

Photo courtesy of TrekDesk

Being an engineer, I had originally planned on crafting one myself, until I saw the TrekDesk. I still think I could design and make a pretty awesome treadmill desk, but I do not have time for those shenanigans right now, so TrekDesk it is! Now I just need to figure out how to pay for it…and pay for a treadmill. To that end…

ANNOUNCEMENT! I am now taking financial backers for katieRUNSthis! Ha! I kid, I kid. But seriously, if you have a wad of cash lying around and you want to help me invest in my health, I would be more than happy to let you buy me a treadmill and treadmill desk. After all, I just want to be like Bart Yasso when I grow up.

Photo courtesy of my friends @runhers!

As far as treadmills go, I think this one from Cybex is pretty fancy. Plus, it helps raise funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF).

I’m normally not a huge fan of pink…but it does support a great cause!

I also like this one from ProForm. I mean, with the Boston Marathon logo smack dab on the side, how could you NOT be inspired daily? Get me to Copley Square!
In all honesty, I will probably end up with a used one from a garage sale or Craigslist. There has got to be someone who is tired of just hanging clothes on theirs, right?

Do you have a job that allows you to not work for THE MAN? If so, what are your favorite perks? If you do still work for the man, what would you change if you could?

As I wrote that title, all I could think of was this… Man, I love me some Journey.

On our new jobs…
Well, it is really happening. The wheels are finally in motion and we are REALLY doing this. My husband left for South Carolina this morning. He starts his new job on Monday, so today was the day our little family parted ways. I know it is only temporary and, considering how hard we have worked for these opportunities and how long we have waited for everything to fall into place, being apart for a couple of weeks is a small sacrifice to make to be making giant leaps toward our goals.

I am so insanely bad with goodbyes and I usually avoid them when I can. I am one of those people that will offer quick hugs and “see ya laters”…all while acting completely unfazed by the whole situation. But later, when I realize that I am on my own, the loneliness sinks in. The time apart will be hard on both of us. My husband will be getting settled in at his new job and missing us, and I will be managing wrapping up my current job, making big move arrangements, and taking care of Baby Key. Luckily, Elvis (the most awesome miniature Dachshund on the planet), Baby Key, and I will be staying with my mom so she can help me in the evenings.

(If you are a new(er) reader, suffice it to say that Baby Key is a high maintenance child…who does not sleep…and he almost NEEDS two adults to care for him. If you think I am being dramatic or whatnot, you just come hang at my house for a few days.)

Things for my new job are coming along well too! Remember that “Super Secret Race” I mentioned a few posts back? Well, I can spill the beans about it now! This fall, I will be in Atlanta working on the inaugural Black Girls RUN! and AARP /Drive to End Hunger! I am absolutely thrilled to be working on this event with the dynamic duo, Toni and Ashley, and the rest of their team. There is so much about this event that I can stand behind: great group with a valuable mission supporting a wonderful cause! Registration is officially open and we hope to see you there!On a new home…
We got a house! Let me say that again…WE GOT A HOUSE! Though the whole ordeal was an emotional roller coaster, we finally came to an agreement with the seller and we officially have a contract on a new home. Here’s is basically how it went down…

We found the house online. Judging from the listing, it had everything we were looking for: space (bedrooms for our family + 1 spare, an office area for me, music space for my husband, etc.), great location, close proximity to the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and nice kitchen (I love to cook for my family!)…just to name a few. We scheduled a date to go see it…4 days after viewing the listing…which was the soonest my husband could arrange to get there and get a showing scheduled with an agent. Between the time we saw the listing and my husband was able to go and see it, an offer was made on the house. SUCK! Having already made the trip to South Carolina, my husband decided to go and see the house anyway. As you can imagine, after viewing it, he believed even more that this would be the perfect house for us.

We knew this house was at the high end of our price range, and, knowing the other offer on the table was probably still higher than our best offer, we sent in our offer anyway…along with this note.
We waited a day and finally heard back from the seller…they wanted to take the other offer. We were so disappointed. We had just lost the home we had really had our heart set on. Until…

We got a call the following day that the seller had reconsidered. They read our note again and had a change of heart! They said they really wanted US to have their house. We did a little back and forth negotiation and now we have a new home! We should know a closing date by the end of the day tomorrow and then we will make a firmer schedule for getting our stuff moved!

On the #RWRunStreak…
The streak is alive! Today is Day 4 and I am still going strong! I know that 4 days is not really all that much to write home about, but with all that we have going on these days, I am pumped to anything I can commit to outside of work and moving.
Day 1 (05/28): 1 mile
*I worked all day and packed all evening. This was the best I could muster at 10PM.
Day 2 (05/29): 2 miles
*It was hot, hot, HOT. Still managed to push them out though!
Day 3 (05/30): 1 mile…walked
*I worked all day and then took my mom out to a celebratory birthday dinner last night. After food and a glass of wine, I was happy with a walk. Hey, I moved.
Day 4 (05/31): ~ 4 miles
*Mom is picking up Baby Key from day care today, so I plan on getting in a good run around her ‘hood. Woot!

The next few weeks will move every bit as quickly as the last few weeks. This transition will be…interesting!

It has been 20 days since my last blog post. No, I didn’t forget about it. No, I’m not dead. No, I haven’t hit a block with my writing. I’ve just been…well, busy. Like really REALLY busy.

Since I started this blog, the only time I have gone that long without a post was last fall when Baby Key was born. Everyday that would go by, I would think about all the things that were going on and all the things I couldn’t wait to share.

Well, as a family, we sort of find ourselves at this same point. The last few weeks have been eventful, stressful, busy, and exciting! I know I have been teasing about dropping some big news on my Twitter for weeks, but I really had to wait until the timing was right. So, without further ado…

“Now this a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down” ~ Fresh Prince

I AM QUITTING MY JOB
Well, technically, I am turning in my 2 weeks notice today. Over the last year or so, I have come to the conclusion that I am not destined to be an engineer. I have learned that just because I can do calculus and physics in my sleep, it does not mean that I have to. In short, my heart is no longer in it and I no longer feel fulfilled pursuing this career. I have realized that I have other talents and gifts and I need to use them.
I don’t get all preachy very often on my blog (though some would argue that I should use my voice to do so, but this is my blog and I will write about what I want, when I want), but I feel that God is opening doors for me and my family and is leading us down a new path. Over the last six months or so, I have crossed paths with several different members of my church who have reminded me that as Christians, God wants us to be joyous in our work. I can honestly say that I find NO joy in being an engineer. In fact, I dislike it so much that I often find it putting me in a bad mood. That is not the kind of person I am and not the kind of person that I want to be. I find joy in helping people, encouraging others, helping people pursue their fitness goals, running, and leading others. The decision has been made to pursue a line of work where I can be happy and share my passions with others…even if it means getting comfortable in a new salary bracket. The value in being happy and healthy far exceeds the salary I collect as an engineer.

But, I won’t be broke for long, because…

I HAVE LANDED AN INCREDIBLE NEW JOBGoodbye, hard hat…HELLO, RUNNING SHOES! Let’s be real, I have made no secret about wanting to shift my career from engineering to all things running. But how does one actually do that? By working your tail off, that’s how. I have been involved with the management, direction, and timing of races as a side job (or by contract work) over the last several years. However, I have been extended a partnership opportunity with a successful race management and timing company and I have decided to accept it. Two weeks from today, I will literally be immersing myself in all things running and racing…as a career! In addition, this new position will bring the opportunity to do some beginner run coaching. My two new partners are accomplished athletes…one is a successful track and running coach at a university (who also writes about running) and the other is a multiple marathoner and back-to-back Ironman 140.6 finisher (yes, he did a full Ironman on one Sunday…and then did another full Ironman the following Sunday). I have known these guys for a long time and I feel honored to be working with them. I am excited about all the good things this will bring and I look forward to growing our business and putting on first class races/endurance events for our clients! While I have managed, directed, and timed many running events (both road and trail), I will also be expanding my horizons and venturing into the management/timing of cycling events, swimming events, triathlons, duathlons, and mud/obstacle runs. So much to learn! Me…a (partial) business owner! All things running…all the time! Say what!?

So where is this great new opportunity? Well, this brings me to the next item…

WE ARE MOVING
Sadly, my dream job is not located in Baton Rouge…not even in the State of Louisiana. It is actually located in Upstate South Carolina, so that is where we will be relocating! Although I am originally from Baton Rouge, I spent 6 years in Greenville, SC after I graduated from LSU so this area is very familiar to me. Plus, my husband is from that area and we have plenty of family there (read = lots of family to gush over and spoil Baby Key rotten 24/7). The Upstate is beautiful and I am looking forward to having more places to run (both on the road and on the trails) and being able to do more cycling, as Greenville is a cyclist’s dream thanks to George Hincapie.

I will NOT be driving this 700+ miles.

One of the best parts about this move is that we will be able to buy our first home. Just writing that makes me tear up. We have dreamed about this for SO long. The cost of housing in Upstate SC is 20% lower than it is in Baton Rouge, so that means we will be able to afford a nice house, nicer than anything we could have gotten here. My husband is working with our real estate agent this week and we are hoping to put an offer on a house this Friday. I simply cannot wait! Owning our own home will bring me so much joy! I will have a kitchen with lots of counter space where I can prepare healthy meals for my family. We will have a big backyard where Baby Key and Elvis (our furbaby) can play and run around. Our new home will be big enough for me to have a home office that I can work from…giving me almost three hours (my current commute time) of my day back. Seriously, do know how much you can accomplish in three hours!? Hello long runs and training time!

My business partners and I are currently seeking new office space. With all that I have going on in Baton Rouge, I could not add that to my list right now. I will be tackling that project once we are there and settled. One space that we are seriously looking at is in a specialty running store in town. That’s right…I would get to work out of a running store! That sounds so fun, but I fear I may come home with new gear everyday and it probably take my running shoe addiction to a whole new level. What a sacrifice, right? Ha!

That’s the long and short of it…quitting a job I hate…starting a job I know I will love…and planting roots in a city that makes me happy. Folks, it is going to be good. GOOD.

But wait, what will my husband be doing?
As fate would have it, my husband has also found an incredible new job in the Upstate. His new company is AMAZING and it is one that he has wanted to get on board with for a long time. Plus, it comes with lots of perks…on-site fitness center (that the whole family can use!), on-site doctor/medical facility, great health benefits, and incredible contributions to 401k, etc. He is very excited and I know that he has so much to offer in this new position!

But wait, what about the #RunLA fam?
Don’t worry, friends! I’m not leaving you! C’mon, did you really think I could just up and leave?? No way! I am still working on several races in Louisiana and even after we move, I will be making regular trips back for race planning meetings, expos, conferences, and events. I plan to schedule my trips back to Louisiana on days where I can meet up with my running groups as much as possible! I am so blessed to have established so many wonderful friendships here and I look forward to continuing those relationships…just from a little farther away. Thank heavens for facebook!

But wait, what about your family in Louisiana?
While most of my family will stay in Louisiana, my mom has decided to make the move with us! She is about to retire and is ready to start a new chapter in her life. She always loved visiting me in Greenville when I lived there before, and she is ready to make it her home also! She will not be making this initial move with us, but once our little family is settled in, we will start the process of relocating her. I am so excited that Baby Key will be able to have my mom and my husband’s parents in the same city!

But wait, won’t you miss Baton Rouge?
In some ways, yes. In some ways, no. I will miss my family and friends tremendously. I will definitely miss the food. I will NOT miss the traffic and the never-ending construction. Baton Rouge is my hometown, but I am ready to make Greenville my home. And I’m really, really ready to get my legs used to running in the mountains again!

When does all this excitement go down?
As soon as possible! My husband starts his new job very soon and as soon as we can set a closing date for a house, we will be scheduling the big move! The tentative plan is to be settling in to our new home around the first week of July.First week of July? Isn’t the AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4th?
Sadly, it is. I was so excited to have won the lottery for this race and I was really looking forward to it. However, with all the craziness we will have going on that week, it just is not feasible for me to get to that race. So, as of right now, I am going to have to move it off my race calendar. However, as things develop over the next month, if it looks like I can squeeze it in somehow, I will. After all, it is the largest 10k in the country…and I really don’t want to miss out on it!

What about the other races I’m planning on running this year?
Other than the AJC Peachtree Road Race, my race calendar should continue on as normal. I am currently committed to Hood to Coast in Oregon at the end of August and Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah (half marathon) in early November. Conveniently, one of my Nuun Hood To Coast Relay Team teammates, Corey, also lives in Greenville, so we will be able to train together in July and August and we will be able to be travel buddies! Too fun! I am seriously eyeing the Kiawah Island Marathon (full marathon) in early December, especially since they have changed it from a double-loop course (I loathe double-loop courses!) to a single-loop course. However, I will make that final decision after Hood to Coast, when I have a better idea of what my fall work/event schedule will be. I want to make sure I have the time to train properly.

So, have you been keeping up with TurboFire and Shakeology?
Yeeeeeah…about that. Y’all, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I tried…really hard…but with still working full-time, working on races part-time, house hunting, organizing everything for the move, and dealing with an infant that STILL refuses to sleep through the night, something had to give. So, I put it on hold. Trying to do it all was creating so much stress, so I had to pare down the commitments. I will say that I LOVED TurboFire and Shakeology and I am super amped to restart the program once we are settled into our new place. I have been able to maintain the weight loss from the few weeks I was on the program, so that’s a bonus! From now until the actual move though, I will just be doing a few weekly runs to maintain my endurance.

As I mentioned above, I have sort of already started my new job and I am currently working on three big races…one repeat race and two inaugural events!

“Super Secret Race” (September 16, 2012; Atlanta, GA)
I am so, SO excited to be part of this race! This race is collaboration with two incredible organizations and although we are still in the initial planning phases, I know this race will be a success. Technically, it has a name, but since the press release for it has not gone out yet, I am sworn to secrecy. Don’t worry, though, as soon as I can spill the beans on this one, I will.Woman’s Half Marathon (December 9, 2012; Baton Rouge, LA)
The women of South Louisiana needed a female-only endurance event, and the Woman’s Half Marathon is just the thing to fill that spot! The press release for this race just went out last week and we are already seeing excellent registration numbers! The course is awesome, it will have a beautiful finishers medal, and the health and wellness boutique (read = expo for ladies!) will feature all kinds of women-specific vendors, running apparel brands, and information on women’s health. While this is event is focused on the ladies, it really is okay for dudes to register too. All I’m saying is that if you are a single runner guy looking for a fit runner chick, you might want to consider running this. C’mon, the odds are in your favor, man!The Louisiana Marathon (January 20, 2013; Baton Rouge, LA)
I am excited to be working on the Louisiana Marathon again. It was held for the first time in January of this year and I am thrilled to be part of this race team again! It is going to be fun! The extent of my involvement with this race is still being hammered out, and as more details unfold, I will share!

Once I move to South Carolina, I will have the chance to work on some other really fun events! Here are just a few of the races I will get the opportunity to work with…
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (Lowcountry Affiliate – Daniel Island, SC) – The largest 5k in South Carolina! (10,500+ runners)Cooper River Bridge Run 10k (Charleston, SC) – The 3rd largest 10k in the United States! (34,000+ runners)Spinx Run Fest (Greenville, SC) – A weekend of running events!

I think that pretty much covers all the excitement that has been going on in our lives lately! I promise to not let so much time go by again without posting! The next 6 weeks will be jam-packed and busy, but I hope that you will keep reading and enjoy the roller coaster with me!

As soon as I hit the Publish button on this post, I will start typing my resignation letter. I am a mixed bag of emotions, but I am ready.

This past weekend I worked the Gulf Coast Half Marathon Pensacola Beach. A lot of people think when I say I “worked” the event that I really mean I “volunteered” at the event. While I in no way want to take away from the awesomeness of volunteers (after all, volunteers are what allow any group to actually make a race happen), I will put it out there that I am actually on staff with this particular race series. For this and other races I work on, it means that outside of race weekend, I spend many hours (in addition to my “real job”) helping get course certifications, city permits, coordinating packet pick-up, and all the other myriad of things that go along with planning a race. Often, for a big race (half marathon or longer), we start planning about a year out. That being said, I can assure you that for any well-produced race, there are dozens of people behind the scenes that work many hours…usually at the oddest times of the day…to help ensure an exceptional race-day experience by every runner.

Start line! This went up at 3:00AM.

Having been on both sides of the registration table allows me to have a unique perspective when it comes to planning/managing a race. As someone who has done a stupid amount of races, I feel like I have a good understanding of what a runner expects, what a runner is impressed by, and what makes them want to come back again. As a race director/manager/member of staff, I also know what is/is not feasible and what things are/are not under our control.

That being said, I wanted to share a few things about what it is like to be on the staff side of the registration table…

If you did not register online ahead of time, please do not fuss at me if the race is sold out when you arrive at packet pick-up. Most races publish online registration links MONTHS ahead of time. Additionally, throughout the online registration period, you will often see discount codes published to further encourage online registration. If there is a race you really want to run, go ahead and sign up for it. Once online registration closes, we will open the remaining spots to registrants who sign up in-person at packet pick-up. For a successful race, this may mean only 10-15 remaining spots, and those are on a first come first served basis. If you show up in the last hour of packet pick-up on the day before the race and we say we are sold out, I assure you, we are sold out.

Me and @RunningWithSass!

If a race is sold out, please do not beg and plead for me to register you. Look, I *hate* being the bad guy. However, permits from the city only allow a certain number of people. If we ever hope to have a race in that city again, we simply CANNOT go above the number allowed on our permit. If we do, this could involve legal ramifications beyond what you are aware of. I promise to do all I can to find a way to get you in this race, but if I cannot get you registered and I have no more entries left, please respect that.

If it is highly advertised that there is no race-day packet pick-up, please do not fuss at me on the morning of the race if you see me standing there with a bin of packets. As a runner, I totally understand how convenient race-day packet pick-up is. And for smaller races, perhaps a 5k with only a few hundred people, that start later in the morning, race-day packet pick-up is totally feasible. However, if a race has over 1,500 people and starts at 7:00AM, there is simply no way we could get everyone’s packets to them and have the race start on time…even if we started packet pick-up at 3:00AM.

My favorite race day buddy, Ms. Diane!

If you have an extenuating circumstance, please e-mail/call the race director/staff ahead of time. We are not bad people. We are generally willing to work with you on your situation. However, we cannot work with you if we do not know about your situation. Letting us know about it after that fact does not help us help you before race day. If you have special needs, we really do want to accommodate you! Drop us a line or give us a shout and give us the chance to help you make arrangements for race day!

At the end of the race with a certified course, please do not complain that the course was too long/short. If a race has been certified, I PROMISE you that it is the correct distance. If you are running a half marathon, the only way your Garmin, RunKeeper, or other GPS device will read exactly 13.1 miles as you cross the finish line is if you hit every curve in the race course at 1 foot off from the tangent. If that makes no sense to you whatsoever, check out this post regarding running tangents.

If you feel like you are so sick or injured that you will not complete the race or the race will have a tremendous negative impact on your health, please do not race. Before the start of Sunday’s race, I was approached by a woman who asked at what mile she would find the first sweep vehicle (ambulance). She said that she had been having terrible hip pain, and while she had gotten half way through her training, the last several weeks were not as dedicated to her training as they should have been. Basically, she started the race fully expecting not to cross the finish line. I understand there is a fine line to teeter on when deciding whether to push on and race through an illness/injury or pulling a DNS. However, if you are thinking of starting a race with the plan of not finishing, I encourage you to rethink the race. Take the time to get well and heal. There is always another race.

Me and @Atha75!

If you did not earn an age group award and you notice that we have extras, please do not ask if you can have one or offer to purchase one. Age group awards for this past Sunday’s race were these cool glass drinking jars. Everyone really seemed to like them. After all of the age group awards were given out, we had a handful left over, as some age group winners had already gone home before the awards. Those who did receive their awards happily filled them with beer and continued on with the post-race party. One gentleman noticed we had extras. He asked if he could have one. I politely told him that we could not just GIVE him an award. He then asked to purchase one. I again told him that we could not make the glasses available for purchase on the same day as the event. After all, the people who won them fair and square deserve the right to revel in their accomplishment. Just giving out the extras (or worse, SELLING them) would only cheapen their award. When I explained this to him, he walked away. Moments later, I overheard this gentleman call me “the B word.” Sigh. You just can’t win with some people.

If you have an AMAZING time, please tell us! We work hard for months to make sure you have the best race experience possible. If we are successful, please tell us! When something goes wrong at a race or if there is something that runners really hated, you can bet we will hear about it. However, if something is overwhelmingly awesome, we want to know about that too so that we can make sure we do it again or incorporate it into our other races (if possible). If you have a great time at a race, please reach out to the race director/staff via e-mail, facebook, or Twitter to tell them about your experience. We love hearing from happy racers!

Finish line! Also went up at 3:00AM!

All in all, it was a fantastic race weekend in Pensacola Beach and I am already looking forward to our next race in the series, the Gulf Coast Half Marathon Louisiana Northshore (Mandeville, LA). I am also working on several other big races outside of the state (more details on those coming as soon as I am allowed to spill the beans!) so this summer and fall will definitely be busy.

Have YOU directed/managed a race? How do you feel it affects you as a runner? What issues have you encountered in the past?